Wayne Schwass talks about his AFL career

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The most obvious question is you were born in Christchurch New Zealand but you were educated in Warrnambool. Why did your parents move to Warrnambool?

I was three years old when my parents moved to Warrnambool. Colin (dad) is part Maori. Rae’s (mum) dad was the policeman at Dennington so my parents decided to come over here to live.

Wayne, you played in the 1996 premiership side with the Kangaroos and played 184 games with the club before joining Sydney where you notched up 98 games with the Swans. Where did you career begin?

Dad had been playing cricket out at Grassmere and when it came to the end of the cricket season I saw some blokes training for footy. I just fell in love with footy. I started out playing with the under 10 midgets at Bushfield. I had four years out at Bushfield before getting invited to train with South Warrnambool’s under 18 side. I was only 15 when I started with South Warrnambool. Leigh McCluskey coached me in the under 18s. We won the flag. There were some good players in the 1984 premiership side which included Shorty Anderson, Leigh Marris, Rodney and Mark Owen.

When did you make your senior debut with South Warrnambool?

It was in 1985. Kevin McVilly was the senior coach at the Roosters. We played Colac-Coragulac in the famous all-in grand final at the Reid Oval. I can still remember the game. I played on Brian Brown (father of Jonathan Brown). It was a really tough game.

Wayne, where did your career go after that grand final?

I was zoned to Fitzroy but they had been told that I would not measure up. I was four weeks away from joining the Army when John Burns who was up at South Warrnambool had been talking to officials at North Melbourne. Burnsy had played with North and he convinced Ron Joseph and Greg Miller to have a chat to me.

Is there any one person who helped develop your career as a young footballer?

I would have to say Burnsy but I also would have to say Neville Johnson when I was out at Bushfield, Lee McCluskey and Robbie Shinners up at South Warrnambool.

When was your first AFL game?

It was in 1988. John Kennedy was coach. I spent about three-quarters of the game on the bench when we played Essendon at Windy Hill. I played the next game before being dropped to the reserves.

Who coached the Kangaroos after Kennedy?

Wayne Schimmelbusch took over as the coach in 1990. When I originally moved to Melbourne I spent 12 months living with his family. Schimmelbusch got the sack as the senior coach of the Kangaroos in the pre-season of 1993 after we copped a hiding at the hands of Adelaide in a practice game. The whole thing was a terrible time. I don’t think it was handled really well. Dennis Pagan took over as coach. He got us into an elimination final in 1993.

You have listed the 1996 premiership win with the Kangaroos as your sporting highlight. What are your memories of that day?

It was definitely the best sporting day of my life. The pressure and the tension in the lead-up to a grand final is amazing. To win a premiership at the highest level is a boyhood dream. The raw emotion for 30 minutes after the game is unbelievable. You’re sharing the win with your mates. I would say one of the best things which happened in that grand final was the efforts of blokes like Adam Simpson, Glen Freeborn, Peter Bell and Matthew Capuano. They were all sensational. Without being disrespectful to any of them they were not highly ranked players but that was always going to happen when you had players of the calibre of Wayne Carey, Glen Archer, Anthony Stevens and Corey McKernan playing. They were all champions.

How did you go in 1997?

I had a terrible year. When I think back I probably celebrated the 1996 premiership win for too long and too hard. I was probably a bit stale. I just needed a break away from the Kangaroos.

I’ve still got vivid memories of you and Dennis Pagan having words at the end of a final game when the Kangaroos played St Kilda. Can you take me through what happened on that night at the MCG at the end of the 1997 season?

We played St Kilda. I had been suspended for four games and Glen Archer was out for two weeks. We were standing in the race. We had just got beaten. I saw Pagan coming toward us. I knew he was going to give us a spray. I had done the wrong thing by getting suspended. Denis just had to unleash his frustration. It was my last game for the Kangaroos.

Do you speak to Pagan now?

Yeah. I’ve caught up with him a few times over the years. We’re not what you would call close but I respect him as a person and a coach. Dennis was an intense coach. He moulded a group of blokes into a very powerful aggressive playing unit. We had a basic game plan which we worked extremely hard on and it worked on many occasions.

Were you at the Kangaroos when Wayne Carey left the Kangaroos?

No. I was playing for Sydney but I was well up to speed with what was happening at the Kangaroos at that stage because I still had so many mates there. The whole thing was terrible for everyone involved at the club. I would say from what I had heard the whole thing fractured the club. It was all so sad because so many long-term friendships were broken forever.

Let’s talk about your time with the Sydney Swans. How old were you when you joined the Swans?

I was 29. I joined the Swans when Shannon Grant left for the Kangaroos. It was a straight swap. I just needed a new challenge. Before I joined the Swans I phoned Paul Roos and Tony Lockett who were playing there. I was very interested in getting their opinions of playing with the Swans because both were like me and had left other clubs. They both encouraged me to sign up with the Swans. It’s really funny because before I joined the Sydney Swans I had this image of Lockett being a selfish player but I can assure you that image was totally wrong. Lockett was a true professional in every sense. Plugger was a very hard worker on the training track. I’ll never forget each game I played in with Plugger he would come over to me before the game and he would say ‘look after me’.

Wayne, you have played in the same side as two of the greatest players in the game. Namely Wayne Carey and Tony Lockett. Who was the better player, Carey or Lockett?

Tough question. Carey and Lockett were both champions. I was lucky to have played in sides which Carey and Lockett played in. When Lockett broke the goal kicking record for the AFL, I played in that game against Collingwood at the SCG. It was a special game but in asking who was the best I would have to say Carey. I played in many games for the Kangaroos where I was in awe of what Carey did on the footy field. Another player who I had a close look at during my career was Geelong’s Gary Ablett senior. He was a freak footballer.

When did your career end with the Sydney Swans?

It was mid-way through 2002. I had broken my arm and then had problems with my hernia. I never did a solid pre-season in 2002. I found playing footy and training a real chore.

What do you think of modern footy now?

I think some people have made the game really complicated. All these sides have so many coaches and fitness people in place it does make me wonder where the game is going to in the future. Footy really is a simple game. It’s true what the late Alan Jeans used to say. There are three parts to the game: we have the ball, they have possession, or the ball is in dispute.